


Together, We Will Find A Way

by Queen_of_Camelot (The_Lady_in_the_Red_Cape)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Rises Again, Bathing/Washing, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Chores, Coming Out, Confused Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Confusion, Dinner, Dirty Jokes, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Funny, Gentle Kissing, Getting Together, Hair Washing, Happy Ending, Hilarious, Humor, Idiots in Love, Jokes, King Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Kissing, Love, M/M, Modern Era, Oblivious Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pizza, Promises, Protective Merlin (Merlin), Reincarnation, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Sex Toys, Sexual Confusion, Surprise Kissing, Television Watching, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Love, resurrected arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25017061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lady_in_the_Red_Cape/pseuds/Queen_of_Camelot
Summary: Arthur Pendragon rises again.The problem is, in this modern world, he finds everything new and bewildering. Televisions, cars, dishwashers. . . They interest and intimidate him at the same time. He feels disoriented and confused.Thank God,he has Merlin.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 174
Collections: Come back to these Merlin, Fanfiction Challenge Collections, MERLIN, MERTHUR, Merlin, Merlin Fanfiction, Merlin Fics to Reread, Merthur fics, merthur fics





	Together, We Will Find A Way

**Author's Note:**

> (Inspired by a post on Pinterest)

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”  


These lines were spoken at least a thousand times during the day that Arthur had spent with Merlin after being resurrected.

“I had you waiting for thousand and five hundred years.”, Arthur would say sadly. “Of course it was my fault.”

“It was your destiny to rise when Albion's need is greatest. You couldn’t help it.”

“Well, I’m sorry anyway. But I’m here now. And I’ll never leave your side.”

Merlin would smile.

And five minutes later, this conversation would be repeated.

* * *

“It must have been immensely stressful.”, Arthur said, as they both sat on the couch and ate dinner.

Merlin was glad to have a different conversation for a change, even though it still revolved around the same topic.

“It was. Watching the world change. Wars being waged. Natural calamities. The coming and going of great men. . . Sometimes it was too much to handle. But there was an upside, too. I saw the society develop. Science and technology evolved. People began changing for he better. So the good and bad things, kind of, balanced each other out, I guess. . .”

“I see.”, Arthur said, listening with rapt attention. This world was completely new to him, and he wanted to grab on to every small detail that he got.

“Besides,”, Merlin said, “I had. . . _ways_ to relieve the stress.”

“What do you mean?”, Arthur asked, brow furrowed. Merlin cleared his throat.

“I. . . _I slept around.”_

“Oh.”, Arthur said, realization dawning on him. “That’s totally acceptable for someone going through so much pressure.” He smiled. “All those lucky women. . . They must have had no idea that they were pleasuring the greatest sorcerer ever to walk the earth.” 

Merlin blushed. “Yeah. . . They were— _They were not women.”_

“What?”, Arthur asked uncomprehendingly.

“I. . . Well, it took me, like, five hundred years to realize it, but. . . I’m gay.”

“ _’Gay’?_ You mean, ‘ _happy_ ’?”, Arthur asked, and Merlin remembered that during Arthur’s time, homosexuality wasn’t a thing.

“No, um. . . You see, things have changed in all these years. People have begun paying more attention to what their heart really wants, and they’ve started being more open about it than before.”

“I don’t understand, Merlin.”

“Well. . . Homosexuality, is an orientation where people are attracted to those of the same gender.”

“Oh,”, Arthur said, trying to process it. “By attracted, you mean. . . _sexually_?”

“Yes.”

“So. . . Wait, can men even get _married_ to each other??” Arthur asked, eyes wide.

Merlin chuckled. “Indeed. It was legalized in 2014. Now, people are more open-minded than they were during our times. . . Well, _at least most of them are.”,_ Merlin added, shrugging. “So now no one has to bury their true identity any more.”

“Wait a minute.”, Arthur said, raising his hands in front of him. “So you’re telling me, that being attracted to people of the same gender _doesn’t happen to everyone?”_

“What? No.”, Merlin said.

“But I thought that _everyone_ is attracted to both men and women! I thought we were supposed to ignore our. . . _homosexual_ feelings, and focus on our interests in the opposite gender.”

“Okay, first of all, being attracted to both men and women is called 'bisexuality'. And secondly, _no!_ Not everyone is bisexual. Why on earth would you think that?”

“Because. . .”, Arthur said slowly, “ _that’s how I feel_. That’s how I've felt _all my life.”_

“What, you mean you were drawn to people of both genders?”

“Yes. . .”

“Well, congratulations, Arthur.”, Merlin said, smiling. “You’re bisexual.”

* * *

“Please don’t bring that anywhere near my mouth.”, Arthur said, flinching.

“Relax, Arthur! It’s just toothpaste on a brush.”

* * *

" _With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride. You're toxic , I'm slipping under_.”, Merlin sang, as he carried the dirty clothes to the laundry room.

“Merlin! Wait.”, Arthur called, and Merlin turned to look at him.

“I want to help you with your chores.”, Arthur said. “You’ve been doing your own work for centuries. Now that I’m here, I want to be useful. Teach me how to wash clothes.”

Merlin laughed, ruffling Arthur's hair fondly. “That’s very sweet of you, Dollophead. But there is no need to wash the clothes manually anymore. We have a washing machine for that. And I’m not planning to let you anywhere near a washing machine for at least a month. I don’t want the house to be blown up.”

“A washing machine?”, Arthur asked. “Can I watch it while it washes our clothes.” 

“From a safe distance, yes.”, Merlin said, smiling. 

_And then, the Once and Future King spent the next forty five minutes, watching the washing machine in awe._

* * *

“Oh, no, Merlin. Let me. I’ll wash them.”, Arthur said, taking the plates from Merlin. 

Merlin pulled them out of the blonde's reach.

“Neither of us have to do it. That’s why we have a dishwasher.”

“You have a machine that washes utensils?”, Arthur asked incredulously.

Merlin grinned. “Welcome to the 21st century, Arthur.”

* * *

“I bet you don’t have a machine for mucking out the stables!”, Arthur said, “I’ll do that for you.”

“We don’t use horses anymore, Arthur. Their job is taken care of by cars.”

“Is 'carse' a new species of mammals that humans use for riding?”

“I think I should remove ‘ _teach Arthur driving'_ from my to-do list.”

* * *

“Are you doing this with your magic?”, Arthur asked, pointing at the television.

“Nope.”

“Where exactly are the people? Are they inside the box? How do they fit inside? And does that spider-like monster exist in reality? How do we protect ourselves if it attacks us? You don’t have to worry, though. I will fight the beast. I will slay it, just like I have slain griffins and wilddeoren and dragons. Brush away your fear, for Arthur is here!”

Merlin sighed. “I should have known that showing you _Stranger Things_ was a bad idea.”

* * *

“Merlin!”, Arthur yelled from the sorcerer’s bedroom.

“What?”, Merlin yelled back.

“I found this thing in your room. What is it used for? It’s small, looks like a plug and vibrates when I press a button.”

Merlin’s eyes went wide. He sprinted to his room and snatched the object from the blonde’s hand.

“Don’t you dare touch anything without my permission ever again.”, he said, stashing the toy inside a cupboard.

“What do you use it for?”

“Um, _stress relief_.”, Merlin said. He wasn’t entirely lying.

“Oh, can I use it too?”, Arthur asked eagerly.

“ _What? No!”_ , Merlin said in horror.

Immediately, Arthur was deflated, pouting and looking let down. Merlin sighed.

“Some other time, maybe.”, he said in a small voice.

“Yes!”, Arthur said, grin returning to his face. “I will be looking forward to it!”

 _“Oh, God_. . .”

* * *

“What is this, Merlin?”

“It’s called a pizza.”

“I don’t want to eat anything that has ' _pee_ ’ in it, thank you very much.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”, Merlin said, and shoved the slice into Arthur’s mouth. The blond sat stubbornly, not biting into it at all.

“If you don’t eat this, I won’t let you play with the magic contraption tonight.”, Merlin said, waving his mobile in front of Arthur.

That did it.

Immediately, the King bit, chewed and swallowed. His eyes went wide.

“ _There is a bloody explosion of flavours in my mouth!”_ He licked his lips adorably. _“I love it._ ”

Merlin fed him another slice. “Just wait until you taste icecream.”

* * *

“Hey, Merlin. You said you used to sleep around, right?”

“Yup.”

“How many people have you slept with roughly?”

“I don’t sleep with anyone _roughly_. I’m very gentle during sex. But then again, there were few times when I—”

“ _No_ , you idiot! I meant how many people have you approximately spelt with?”

“Who the _hell_ keeps count of their sexual partners?”

“Hmm. Yeah, I guess that makes sens—”

“12,692.”

“ _WHAT?_ ”

“What? I got lonely!”

“Damn it, Merlin! You’re a human incubus!”

“ _Shut up, prat.”_

* * *

“Merlin, make it rain!”, Arthur said, looking up with wide and expectant eyes from where he sat naked on the stool in the bathroom.

“No.”, Merlin said, rubbing fragrant body wash on Arthur’s chest. "If we use the shower, I’ll get wet too.”

“ _Please_ , Merlin! Please, please, please, please—”

“Arthur! I said no. My clothes will get wet.”

“Then take them off!”, Arthur whined.

“What? _No!”_ , Merlin said, blushing.

“You haven’t had a bath yet, right? Let’s take one together.”

“Arthur, that’s. . . That won’t be appropriate.”, Merlin said, turning beet-red, but Arthur was already tugging off his red scarf. 

“Merlin. Stop being such a girl! You see me naked everyday.”, the blonde said, pulling at Merlin’s shirt. 

“Oh, my God, you’re harassing me!”, Merlin said, grabbing his clothes securely in place.

“Stop complaining, Drama Queen! Off with the clothes.”, Arthur said, giving up on trying to disrobe the sorcerer.

Merlin sighed. He tentatively pulled off his shirt and jeans. Even more hesitantly, he shimmied out of his briefs and tossed them aside. 

Arthur stared shamelessly. 

“ _Arthur!”_ , Merlin squeaked, smacking him on the head.

“Sorry.”, Arthur said, smirking. “Alright, you scrub me, and I’ll scrub you.”

And for the next fifteen minutes, they did just that.

“ _Merlin_. . .”, Arthur said, as the two boys stood, hugging each other in the shower, under the pretext of scrubbing each other’s backs. “What we’re doing. . . _Is it gay?”_

“ _More than you could possibly imagine.”_

* * *

“I look like a manatee.”, Arthur said, scowling, looking at himself in the mirror.

“Wearing a loose, grey hoodie doesn’t make you a manatee, Arthur.”

_“AND WHY DOES IT HAVE SO MANY BLOODY POCKETS??”_

Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose. “ _God, give me the strength. . .”_

* * *

“Merlin.”

“Yes?”

“I’m scared.”

Merlin turned to look at Arthur. He looked worried and tense.

Merlin went and sat next to him on the couch. “What's the matter, Arthur?”, he asked soothingly. “What’s troubling you?”

“It’s just. . .”, Arthur said uncertainly. “This is all too much for me to take in. All this technology, the towering buildings, these rumbling machines. . . They’re all so. . . _intimidating_. I just _can’t_ get used to it.”, he looked up at Merlin. “What if I _never_ get used to it?”

Merlin didn’t know why he did what he did next. But once he did it, he wondered why it took him so long to finally do it.

He leaned forwards and kissed Arthur.

It was a chaste kiss; a peck on the lips. Bit it held the love and passion worth of a thousand years.

When they pulled apart, Arthur’s eyes fluttered open. “I’ve been wanting to do that forever.”

“Me, too.”, Merlin said, smiling.

“If this world is allowing me to embrace who I really am, then I guess it’s not so bad after all.”, Arthur said with a small smile. “I’m just concerned about how I’m going to survive these changes. If I’m resurrected, it means that something terrible is going to happen. I’m gonna have to face it, and save everyone from whatever horrors it brings. Until then, I’ll also have to manage day-to-day activities. Learn the new etiquette. _Start a new life with you._ ” Arthur sighed. “How am I going to do all that?”

Merlin kissed him again and smiled. Looking into the eyes of the man he had always loved, he whispered,

 _“Together, we will find a way_.”


End file.
